Watch the Road!

I confess, there was one time when my driving instructor had to slam on the brakes so I didn’t pull out in front of a car. Driver’s Ed seems so long ago but the skills I learned from that class are utilized as much or more than the education I got from about any other class I had in school…especially Chemistry! Well, that’s not entirely true but it is an important skill to master to say the least. But in mastering it, you have to watch the road and focus.

The drivers license seems to be sort of a “rite of passage”. You’re nearly an adult but not quite and you’re not really a kid anymore but yet you still are. So, it’s not uncommon that mistakes will be made.

Yet, even after you make a mistake, you have to get back behind the wheel and keep driving.

Two weeks after I got my license I was with a couple friends when I rear-ended a pickup truck. It was a tough ordeal. The damage to the vehicles wasn’t horrible but obviously, I felt bad. It was hard to have to tell my dad. But he was gracious and understanding, we got through it, I wasn’t ruined and I am happy to tell you that I still drive today.

When my oldest son was learning to drive, he pulled into the garage and apparently didn’t get the ignition switch turned off all the way. When I went to start the car a couple days later, the battery was dead. Deader than dead, actually. Deader than I had ever experienced a battery to be. But we got it jump started and moved on. Lesson learned.

It takes patience on both the part of the parents and the child to get through this stage of life. Even after Driver’s Ed is over the learning continues. You can’t put a student driver in every situation he may face when driving. There comes a point when you have to trust that what he learned will see him through those situations and you can’t focus for them.

Driving requires focus. There is a lot to learn when driving. Besides the “Rules of the Road” you have to learn how to maneuver the car. Do you notice how much time you spent adjusting the mirrors, seat, steering wheel when you first learned to drive versus how much time you spend on that now? There’s a lot going on when you start driving and it takes time to get comfortable with driving and you can’t let distractions get in your way. Once you get comfortable in a vehicle, I think the learning becomes easier. For example, when you see a stop sign, you know you have to stop the car, but when you are learning to drive, you also have to learn how much pressure to apply to the brake and when to start braking.

Maybe you’re stuck in a situation that feels like you are learning to drive for the first time. Maybe you are overwhelmed by a looming project or difficult challenge. Take a step back and focus. Adjust the settings of the vehicle that will take you where you need to go, get comfortable, then get going.

Do you have a story from your experiences when learning to drive? Share it with us in the comments!